The journey home
by TivaBonesCaskett
Summary: The team flys to Florida to attend Jimmy Palmer's wedding. Ziva struggles with her feelings for Tony, but then a terrorist attack happens. SPOILERS for 9x20-9x24. Based on promos and spoilers. Tiva


**A/N: Hey guys! Here comes another story. Believe in miracles will be updated soon. This one is how season 9 could end. Spoilers for 9x20 - 9x24. It is all based on the promos and spoilers. There will be three parts. I hope you like it. Credit goes to my beta 'Love8peace' who corrected it in no time. :D Have fun, leave a review!**

* * *

The plane in which they sat wasn't really big. Rows lined each side of the plane, in each were three seats. Therefor it was enough space for about a hundred people. But the plane wasn't even full.

They sat in a plane to Jacksonville, Florida to attend Jimmy Palmer's wedding. Tony sat beside Ziva who sat directly beside the window. On his other side sat Tim who read a book. Gibbs, Abby and Ducky sat behind them.

The last time Tony had been on a plane was when Ziva and he headed down to Colombia were they had to search for a missing Navy Chaplin. They had found her after an extensive search; it was then he had met Ziva's friend Monique Lisson. She was quite an interesting person. She told him some very intriguing stories about Ziva which really helped Tony to understand her more. Monique was like a big sister to Ziva; which wasn't actually surprising. They didn't grow up together and Monique wasn't Mossad either but she was the one who was there when Ziva lost her sister. She also lost a brother in the Hamas bombing in which Ziva lost Talia. Monique was a few years older than Ziva, but that didn't matter. They grieved together for their siblings; one sustaining the other.

Monique understood Ziva even better than he did. He didn't think that this was even possible. Their friendship was incredible. Hopefully their friendship would be that strong one day too. But after a little chat with Monique, he was pretty confident that one day there could actually be more than just friendship. Ziva just needed some time to heal and to process her messed up relationship with Ray.

Slowly, he turned his head to her and studied her for a moment. She seemed relaxed and somehow content. After the break-up with Ray, she looked sad and exhausted, like she wasn't really sleeping, for days. Every time he looked at her, his own heart broke a bit more and all he wanted was to make her feel better. Even though he did not know how.

However, she managed to make the first step alone; after all she was a strong and independent woman. Nevertheless, he didn't know who far she had come. Perhaps she talked to Monique about that, but he had no clue. All Monique had said to him was that Ziva would show him when she was ready.

They had already flown for an hour and there was another one to go until they would land in Jacksonville. He checked his watch and it was only seven o'clock am. Their flight departed at six and they had to be there at four o'clock. It was really difficult to get up that early but he managed, mostly because he had to pick up Ziva. But now, three hours later, tiredness overcame him. He leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes. Within five seconds he fell asleep.

* * *

Most of the time she had a pretty good view, but in the last five minutes it was replaced by a cloud wall. She sighed and turned her attention to her partner. To find he was sound asleep. He looked peaceful and kind of cute. It surprised her when he showed up on time this morning. It was after all pretty early and she already reckoned that he would come late. But he didn't. He came dead on time at 3.30 am and even insisted on carrying her luggage down. So they hadn't been the last ones at the airport.

This is why she wasn't surprised that he was sleep now. It was actually a good idea because they wouldn't get much sleep in Jacksonville. She put the armrest between the two of them down and slid closer to him. She hoped that he wouldn't mind when she used him as a pillow because he was pretty comfortable. On their movie nights she always fell asleep against his shoulder and it didn't bother him.

Therefore she put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. The last thing she noticed was that his arm found its way around her waist and pulled her closer. With that she fell asleep.

* * *

The airplane was in its final descents and Tim looked to his two co-workers. They were sound asleep for the past hour. Tony held Ziva in his arms and Ziva had her head on his shoulder. They both looked really content. It was odd to see them like this but lately not a seldom picture. Since they came back from Colombia, they treated each other differently. It reminded Tim a bit of the time when they were in Paris together. Only this time, they were still closer. Hopefully, they would finally admit that they were perfect for each other. Everyone saw this but them.

He turned around to Abby and whispered, "Give me your camera, please! I have to take a picture of Tony and Ziva!" Abby smiled and handed him her camera.

"What are they doing now?" She asked and he indicated her to be quiet. Quickly, he snapped a picture of them and handed the camera back to Abby. She looked at the picture and squealed happily. Tim smiled to himself and turned his attention back to Tony and Ziva. He carefully shook Tony's shoulder until the other man woke up.

"What's up, McGee?" He asked opening his eyes. He felt the warm body against him and knew that it was Ziva. It was a bit awkward so he pretend like she wasn't lying in his arms. Slowly he raised his hand and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"We are landing," he replied simply. Tony nodded and softly shook Ziva.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty!" He whispered and Ziva began to stir. It was almost the same situation as when they were flying back from Columbia. The only thing which was different from it was that Tony had wakened her up much gentler. But now there was McGee and the others who were watching them and he didn't want to be so intimate with Ziva in front of them. At least as long as he didn't know what their relationship was.

"Ziva, we are almost on the ground. You have to wake up," He repeated and Ziva sat tiredly up. In the next moment the plane landed with a little jolt. With that Ziva was awake. Tony had to smile because you didn't see Ziva like this often. She looked a bit crumpled but Tony thought that made her look even more beautiful.

"Aw, Ziva. You're adorable. You know that? You should see your face," Tony said and nudged her shoulder. She looked at him and yawned.

"You're cute when you're sleeping," She simply answered, with that their little conversation ended. Again they smiled at each other before they got ready to get off the plane.

In the next hour they deplaned, collected their luggage and were taken to their hotel where Jimmy and Breena waited for them.

"Hey guys! How was your flight?" Jimmy asked smiling. Breena also smiled warmly at the group and enveloped Ziva and Abby in a welcoming hug.

"I'm so glad that you're here. You have to go into the city with me this afternoon. My friends don't come until tomorrow and today is the last fitting for my wedding dress!" She said nervously and Abby nodded eagerly.

"Of course, we're coming, right Ziva?" Abby reassured her, giving Ziva a little nudge. Quickly, she also nodded and smiled slightly.

"Thank you so much, you're saving my life! But I will show you your rooms now. We have three double bedrooms for you. They are on the second floor, I'll get the keys," She explained and walked over to the reception.

After a while they got their keys and were in their rooms. Ziva was in a room with Abby, Tony with McGee and Gibbs with Ducky.

Ziva put her suitcase on the bed and looked around. The room was pretty big for a hotel room. There was even a couch. On the right side there were two queen-size-beds each with a nightstand on its left side. Next to the door on the right was a big cupboard and on the left was another room where the couch and the television stood. There was also a little table with two chairs and behind them was the bathroom. Of course there was a little balcony on which Ziva stood now. It was toasty so that you could easily wear a T-shirt. The bland sea air calmed her and she closed her eyes.

The last few months were stressful; Cobb's abduction of her, Mike Franks death, Ray's proposal and his betrayal. It was a pretty eventful year and she couldn't say that the years before that were less eventful. And now it was more than enough for her. She ran out of steam. She just wanted a normal life. Was that too much to ask for? Didn't she deserve it? Her life was full of death, betrayal and hate; things she didn't choose for her life. Her eyes got teary and she remembered her conversation with Monique. She actually didn't tell her what she should do, but she did say that she had to follow her heart. Easier said than done. What did her heart want?

"Ziva, is everything alright?" Tony asked who stood on the balcony next to hers. Quickly, she dried her eyes and turned to him.

"Yeah, everything's fine," She responded and smiled weakly. Concerned, Tony frowned.

"Come here, Ziva," He said and put out his hand to her. For a moment Ziva hesitated but then grabbed his hand. He pulled her as close as the fence between the two balconies let him and took her face in his hands.

"I can tell when you're lying. And you did lie to me a second ago. So again, what's wrong?" He asked gently and stroked her cheek lightly with his thumb. Ziva couldn't prevent another tear from rolling down her cheek.

"I just don't want this life anymore. Is it too much to ask for a normal life, without death and hate?" She asked desperately and looked at him with an almost lost expression. It broke his heart to see her like this. All he wanted for her was to be happy. And obviously she wasn't. Softly he wiped the tear away.

"You deserve all of this. Actually you deserve more than this. And I am sure that you will get it one day. Maybe you just have to wait a bit more and try harder. But I'll promise you, you'll get it, okay?" He assured her and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Why are you so sure about it?" Ziva asked confused.

"Because you are the most beautiful woman I know," He confessed, "And every guy who won't adore you and love you, would be a total jerk!"

She laughed quietly and looked down. She loved it when he made her compliments but she always blushed. Just like now.

"Thank you, Tony", she said and pulled away from him. He just gave her a friendly smile.

"You should go to Abby. You have an engagement with her and Breena. You'll see us later," He reminded her and she nodded before she went into the room again where Abby already waited for her.

* * *

The dress fitting wasn't actually as bad as Ziva thought. Breena was really nice and not a woman who always grumbled about how fat and ugly she was. Not that she was, she was beautiful and her dress fitted perfectly. The three of them had a pretty good time and laughed a lot.

"Thank you guys so much! I owe you one!" Breena said and gave them a hug.

"No problem. We had a lot of fun, right Ziva?" Abby reassured her and Ziva smiled.

"Should we go to the café there? It's on me!" Breena suggested and Abby and Ziva agreed. After a while they sat at a nice little table outside sipping coffees. The sun was shining and Ziva turned her face into the warmth.

"It's amazing here. Jacksonville is a pretty city. It had to be nice to grow up here," Ziva assessed and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Yeah, it was but when you're the daughter of an undertaker you don't have many friends. Many people look at you weird. I mean I won't complain, probably you had it much more difficult in Israel," Breena said and in the next moment looked guiltily to the ground. "I'm sorry, Ziva. I didn't want to bring this up. I mean Israel is definitely beautiful but your father …" She tried to correct herself but only made it worse. At first Ziva didn't know what to say, but then her face softened and she smiled at Breena.

"It is okay. It is difficult to grow up there and I am glad that I am here now", she explained and Breena sighed with relief. They chatted a bit more and laughed a lot until Ziva saw Tony who was heading directly for them. Only the look in his eyes told her that something wasn't right. She stood up and ran to him.

"Tony! What's wrong?" She quickly asked and laid a hand on his arm. He searched her eyes and tried to find the right words.

"Something happened," He simply said and Ziva looked confused at him.

"What, Tony! What happened?" She asked again this time a bit more emphatic.

"There was a terrorist attack in the Naval Station Mayport. They blasted a Navy Ship!"

With that Ziva's mouth fell open. It started again.


End file.
